David Salo
{{Short description|American linguist}}
{{Infobox person
| name = David I. Salo
| image = David Salo.jpg
| alt = David Salo
| caption = David Salo giving a speech in Bloomington, Illinois, April 30, 2005
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| death_date =
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| nationality = American
| known_for =
| education = University of Wisconsin-Madison
| occupation = Linguist
}}
David Salo is an American linguist who worked on the languages of J. R. R. Tolkien for the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies, expanding the languages (particularly Sindarin) by building on vocabulary already known from published works, and defining some languages that previously had a very small published vocabulary.{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Susan Lampert |date=2003-01-19 |title=Linguist Is A Specialist In Elvish, The Uw Grad Student Provides Translations For Lord Of The Rings Movies |page=C1 |work=Wisconsin State Journal |publisher=William K. Johnston |url=http://www.madison.com/wisconsinstatejournal/local/40925.php |url-status=dead |accessdate=2007-11-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041205101246/http://www.madison.com/wisconsinstatejournal/local/40925.php |archive-date=2004-12-05 |issn=0749-405X}}
Salo on Tolkien's languages
= Enthusiast =
Salo's interest in Tolkien's languages arose when he read Tolkien's works as a boy. As an undergraduate at Macalester College, Minnesota he studied Latin, Greek, and linguistics, and used the knowledge gained to improve his understanding of Tolkien's languages.{{cite journal|title=Need an Elvish Translator? We've Got the Right Person for the Job |journal=Artes Liberales Today |url=http://www.ls.wisc.edu/ArtesLibv7n1.pdf |year=2002 |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=4 |publisher=College of Letters & Science, University of Wisconsin–Madison |accessdate=2007-11-15 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070221080323/http://www.ls.wisc.edu/ArtesLibv7n1.pdf |archivedate=February 21, 2007 }} In 1998 he was among the founders of the Elfling mailing list for Tolkienist language enthusiasts.{{cite web|url=http://nellardo.com/lang/elf/faq.html#s0.2 |title=Elfling FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) List |work=nellardo.com |accessdate=2010-12-29}} He graduated in linguistics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. In 2004 he published a linguistic analysis of Sindarin: A Gateway to Sindarin: A Grammar of an Elvish language from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. This book was reviewed in 2006 in volume 3 of the journal Tolkien Studies,{{cite journal |last=Straubhaar |first=Sandra Ballif |author-link=Sandra Ballif Straubhaar |title=Gateway to Sindarin (review) |journal=Tolkien Studies |volume= 3 |year=2006 |pages=166–173 |publisher=West Virginia University Press |issn=1547-3155 |doi=10.1353/tks.2006.0033|s2cid=170888949 }} and it was further reviewed in the context of Tolkienian linguistics as a whole in volume 4 of Tolkien Studies (2007).{{cite journal |last=Hostetter |first=Carl F. |authorlink=Carl F. Hostetter |title=Tolkienian Linguistics: The First Fifty Years |journal=Tolkien Studies |volume= 4 |year=2007 |pages=1–46 |publisher=West Virginia University Press |doi=10.1353/tks.2007.0022|s2cid=170601512 }}
= Consultant =
{{further|Music of The Lord of the Rings film series#Use of Middle-earth languages}}
In 2003, when still a graduate student in linguistics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Salo was contracted for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy to write all the material in Elvish (particularly Sindarin), Khuzdul (Dwarvish) and other languages for the films, as well as to assist with other language-related items such as the Tengwar and Cirth inscriptions which appear in the films. Salo also translated the lyrics for the films' soundtracks: many of these are sung in Sindarin in Howard Shore's long and innovative music score for the film series.{{cite web |url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2001-12-20/culture/talkin-tolkien/1 |title=Talkin' Tolkien |accessdate=2007-11-14 |first=Robert |last=Wilonsky |work=Phoenix New Times |archive-date=2012-07-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728195324/http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2001-12-20/culture/talkin-tolkien/1/ |url-status=dead }} Subsequently, Salo provided similar services as the Tolkien language consultant for The Hobbit film trilogy.{{cite web |url=http://www.theonering.net/torwp/2011/09/11/47992-david-salo-linguistic-consultant-for-the-hobbit-speaks-at-geek-kon/ |title=David Salo, Linguistic Consultant for The Hobbit, speaks at Geek Kon |accessdate=2012-12-31 |work=TheOneRing.net}}
He provided assistance with Khuzdul for the 2023 video game The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria.{{Cite web |last=Brian Crecente |date=2022-10-25 |title=Digging into The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria development |url=https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/news/digging-into-the-lord-of-the-rings-return-to-moria-development |access-date=2023-05-12 |website=Epic Games}}
Works
= Bibliography =
- 2004: A Gateway to Sindarin: A Grammar of an Elvish language from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings ({{ISBN|0-87480-800-6}})
= Consultant =
- The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001-2003)
- The Hobbit film trilogy (2012-2014)
- The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria (2023)
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.arwen-undomiel.com/elvish/elvish-interview.html Interview with David Salo]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20190126115532/http://midgardsmal.com/ Salo's former Midgardsmal language blog]
{{J. R. R. Tolkien}}
{{Authority control}}
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Category:Linguists from the United States
Category:Constructed language creators
Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni